Fresh chip concerns surface US semiconductor sector depends heavily on Ukraine-based neon supply

摘要

With a significant percentage of the world's semiconductor-grade neon production derived from Ukraine and Eastern Europe as a whole,concerns are being raised for the stability of rare gases supply as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues.The longer this crisis continues and escalates,the greater the volatility seen in global markets,at a time when those same markets are only just recovering from the effects of the global pandemic over the last two years.For the gases industry,thoughts had immediately focused on the high-profile helium business.The geographic needle of global helium supply had been due to shift eastwards as a result of Gazprom's Amur plant coming on-stream in Eastern Siberia.Russia's emerging helium market had been expected to see its production jump from just 3% in 2021 to 26% by 2025,in the context of simultaneously decreasing(traditional)North American production.